Arsene Wenger cautious over Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's return

The 20-year-old England star missed Monday night's 3-0 win over Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium with a niggling groin problem.

Wenger indicated he would need at least two weeks' complete rest after that and he's remaining cautious over the rehabilitation.

The Gunners boss said: "Alex is in treatment at the moment and not in training.

"It is very difficult to give you a timescale on him at the moment."

Full-back Kieran Gibbs is also sidelined by a hamstring problem but is set to resume full training shortly.

Midfielder Abou Diaby will not be rushed after reporting a minor groin problem following his return from a serious knee injury in the under-21s.

Arsenal have opened up a four-point lead over Everton and, should the Toffees come unstuck at home to title-chasing Manchester City on Saturday, then the Gunners would be secure of a place in next season's Champions League qualifiers before they tackle the relegation-battling Baggies on Sunday lunchtime.

RETURN: Abou Diaby is nearing a comeback [GETTY]

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Defender Laurent Koscielny maintains the Arsenal players, who were knocked out by Bayern Munich in the second round this season, always strive to challenge themselves against the best Europe has to offer.

He said: "The Champions League is a tournament which has the best teams in Europe so we want to play against the big teams because we can judge our level against Milan, Barcelona or Bayern.

"For the players it's very exciting to play against them because we learn a lot and you progress [individually].

"If you win it's a very exciting game so we want to come back to the Champions League because we love it.

"We are focused for the other games because the season is very long and we want to play Champions League again because it's the most exciting competition for us.

"We did well this season apart from two months which were very difficult for us, but we came back."